The old 3M Co. headquarters on the East Side of St. Paul has a new name: Beacon Bluff.

It's part of a marketing effort launched Wednesday by the St. Paul Port Authority to lure companies and jobs to the 46-acre site.

Port Authority President Louis Jambois said there's no geographic location called Beacon Bluff on the East Side, but that the name came out of brainstorming sessions. He said it fits with the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, which abuts the property.

Finding buyers might be a bit complicated because there's a mix of vacant land and buildings with historic pasts. Officials want to see whether they can sell the buildings for reuse first, rather than for demolition.

The Port Authority paid 3M $5 million for the property, which sits along the Phalen Corridor. It served as 3M's headquarters from 1910 to 1962. Over the past year, a citizen advisory committee has been discussing options for the land and reuse of the buildings.

The Port Authority has sold one 4-acre parcel of the former 3M land, and a sale is pending on 9 acres east of the old headquarters. Colliers Turley Martin Tucker will market the property to potential buyers around the world. For more information, go to www.beaconbluff.com.

CHRIS HAVENS